On-Air Highlights

witf TV Picks for the week of July 6

Sunday July 6 at 7:00pm - Time Scanners - The team travels to Egypt to scan the pyramids -- the tombs of the mighty pharaohs -- to find out how the necropolis evolved from simple mud-brick structures to the most impressive buildings in the ancient world. They use their cutting-edge laser technology to scan Djoser’s Step Pyramid at Saqqara, Meidum’s collapsed pyramid, the mysterious Bent Pyramid at Dashur and the famous Great Pyramid at Giza.

Monday July 7 at 10:00pm - POV - Who better to cover the Paralympics, the international sporting event for athletes with physical and intellectual disabilities, than Niko von Glasow, the world’s best-known disabled filmmaker? Unfortunately — or fortunately for anyone seeking an insightful and funny documentary — this filmmaker frankly hates sports and thinks the games are “a stupid idea.” Born with severely shortened arms, von Glasow serves as an endearing guide to London’s Paralympics competition. As he meets a one-handed Norwegian table tennis player, the Rwandan sitting volleyball team, an American archer without arms and a Greek paraplegic boccia player, his own stereotypes about disability and sports are delightfully punctured.

Tuesday July 8 at 8:00pm - Civil War - The Untold Stories - In the final episode: In the spring of 1864, General William Tecumseh Sherman’s force of 100-thousand men marches from Chattanooga toward Atlanta, Georgia, the industrial hub of the Deep South. Twenty miles north of Atlanta, Sherman’s army is soundly defeated at Kennesaw Mountain. Sherman’s defeat combined with Grant’s stalemate in Virginia, enrages a Northern electorate already weary of war. The presidential election is in November, and Abraham Lincoln’s chances for a second term are dwindling by the day. The Democrats nominate George McClellan. The party’s platform calls for a negotiated peace with the Confederacy in which slaveholders will be allowed to keep their property. If McClellan is elected, Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation will almost certainly be struck down. Though victorious at Kennesaw Mountain, the outnumbered Confederate Army falls back to a defensive position at Atlanta. After 6 weeks of bloody conflicts around Atlanta, Sherman wires Washington: “Atlanta is ours and fairly won.” For the first time in the war, many in the North now believe victory can be achieved. Eight weeks later, the president defeats McClellan in a landslide. After the election, Sherman begins his March to the Sea. The largely unopposed march across Georgia to Savannah is a psychological blow to the Confederacy, and a stunning conclusion to the Western Theater.

Wednesday July 9 at 10:00pm - Secrets of the Dead - In September 2012, headline news shook the art world. A secret Leonardo da Vinci painting had been uncovered, a portrait of a younger and more beautiful Mona Lisa that predated the famous Louvre masterpiece. Now, an elite group of art historians, research physicists, restoration experts and forensic imaging specialists has gained exclusive access to analyze the painting firsthand. Applying high-precision, scientific techniques, they will aim to verify the painting’s date, decipher hidden mathematical codes within it and unravel the clues that point to Leonardo’s genuine hand.

Thursday July 10 at 8:00pm - Masterpiece Mysterty: Sherlock - Sherlock (Benedict Cumberbatch) must solve perplexing and dangerous puzzles specifically laid out for him. Can he and Watson (Martin Freeman) catch up to the villain before innocent people are harmed? Alan Cumming hosts.

Friday July 11 at 9:00pm - Mark Twain Prize: Carol Burnett — comedic icon and all-around performing legend — is the guest of honor when, for the 16th year, the comedy world convenes in Washington, DC, to toast the 2013 recipient of the Kennedy Center’s Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. The all-star cast includes Julie Andrews, Lucie Arnaz, Tony Bennett, Tim Conway, Tina Fey, Rashida Jones, Vicki Lawrence, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, Martin Short and Rosemary Watson. The program features comedic highlights from Burnett’s half-century in show business.

Saturday July 12 at 8:30am - Vicious - Freddie and Stuart shop for a new coat for Freddie for his fan club event. Since the coat is more expensive than they’d expected, Stuart finds a way of secretly raising some cash. Meanwhile, Ash seeks Freddie and Stuart’s advice to win back his ex-girlfriend. Violet is more than happy to help, and Ash and Violet, along with friend Penelope, take an eventful trip to the shops, where they make a shocking discovery.

Next week: Masterpiece Mystery: Endeavour continues on Sunday. A woman found choked to death with a black silk stocking is the third strangling victim in a month, putting the Oxford city police on edge. Morse and Thursday grapple with their personal travails as they work to narrow the list of possible suspects before the Oxford strangler strikes again.